


The Druid and the King

by undercoverwillshaper



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Agravaine is an asshole, Druid AU, Druid Merlin (Merlin), F/M, Good Uther Pendragon (Merlin), Gwaine Being Gwaine (Merlin), Gwaine Flirts (Merlin), I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Lancelot (Merlin) Lives, Merlin is a Little Shit (Merlin), Minor Gwaine/Merlin (Merlin), Past Gwen/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Protective Merlin, Uther Pendragon Dies (Merlin), it was a mistake
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-28
Updated: 2019-07-01
Packaged: 2020-02-09 06:11:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18632413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/undercoverwillshaper/pseuds/undercoverwillshaper
Summary: The kingdom of Camelot was conquered four years ago, Uther Pendragon killed, and the king's brother placed on the throne.Agravaine rules Camelot with an iron fist. The people starve in the streets. He puts the Druids to death and declares magic illegal. Their only hope is the young prince, Arthur, but Arthur is missing.Enter Merlin Ambrosius, one of the last of the Druids.Arthur meets Merlin by chance, and they band together to take revenge on Agravaine and take back the throne. Merlin uses her magic and Arthur his sword, but can they in back their kingdom and perhaps each other's hearts?





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this in a haze at 3 am this morning, so if it sucks, don't hate me. I'll upload a video by the weeks end on YouTube for this as well.

Agravaine, former court sorcerer, looked out over the city as it burned. The coup had been successful, he mused, and it had been easy enough to get the royal guard to follow him.   
“Sire, your brother has been detained in his quarters.”  
Agravaine turned to look at the soldier.  
“Perhaps I will pay him a visit,” he replied, turning back to the window, “Can’t have my dear brother getting lonely. Where is the young prince?”  
“I hesitate to bring this to the attention of one as illustrious as you, your grace, but I’m afraid that the young prince is nowhere to be found.”  
Agravaine whipped around, fury igniting in his eyes.   
“FIND HIM!” he howled, “That boy is the only one who threatens my claim to the throne!”  
The soldier practically tripped over himself in his haste to get away. Agravaine scowled and stalked from the throne room. He stomped down the hall, following the twists and turns of the walls until he had reached the king’s bedchamber. He slammed open the door, noting with satisfaction that Uther knelt on the cold stone with the points of two swords at his neck.  
“Agravaine,” Uther growled, “I should have known that only you would be so bold as to try to take my kingdom.”  
“Oh, I didn’t just try,” Agravaine replied with a smirk, “I succeeded.”  
The smirk dropped from his face only moments later as he stooped to his brother’s eye level.   
“Now tell me, brother,” he said, “Where is my nephew? I wouldn’t want anything to happen to the young prince.”  
It was Uther’s turn to smirk.   
“I sent him away,” he laughed, “Somewhere you’ll never find him. Arthur is lost to you forever.”  
“Tell me,” Agravaine ground out, “Were you planning on telling me where you sent him before or after I kill your wife?”  
Uther nearly leaped to his feet in his struggle to reach his brother.   
“If you lay a hand on Ygraine, I will kill you myself!” he roared.  
Agravaine laughed.   
“The way I see it, brother, you are in no position to be making threats.”  
He waved away the two guards as he pulled a dagger from its sheath at his waist. He ran several fingers over the edge of the blade, noting with satisfaction that it drew blood where it pricked his thumb.   
“Now, are you going to tell me where Arthur is,” he asked, leaning in close to his brother’s face, “Or will I need to bring your pretty wife in here and use this dagger to slit her throat?”  
Uther hung his head, defeated.   
“I sent him to the druids and gave them instructions to send him to the Priestesses of the Old Religion.”  
Agravaine nearly growled in frustration. The Priestesses were not a force to be contended with. The most powerful sorceresses to ever walk the earth, their combined might was enough to wipe out Camelot if he came for the young prince.  
“You know, its a shame that I won’t be able to use this on your wife,” Agravaine said, “But I am, after all, a man of my word. However, I never said anything about using it on you.”  
With one swift motion, Agravaine whirled and plunged the dagger between his brother’s ribs. He watched with satisfaction as the life drained from the king’s eyes and he slumped to the floor. Turning to the two soldiers, he growled, “Send out all the forces we have to intercept the prince before he reaches the druids, and then find the rest and wipe them out.”  
He stalked out the door of the king’s chambers and stopped at the window outside. Gripping the ledge, he let out a roar of rage.  
He would find Arthur, and when he did, he would remove the threat to his rule. Nothing, and no one, would stand in his way, he vowed, or they would suffer the consequences.


	2. The Druid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We finally meet our favorite druids, and a wild Arthur appears!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for the wait, ya'll! I got a real live grown-up job and had to move for it, so things have been crazy busy and stressful. Here's a chapter for your patience!

“Merlin.”  
The woman in question turned away from the statue that she studied. The young man behind her gazed at her with eyes of slate.  
“Mordred,” she breathed, and then rushed towards him, “Are you alright?”   
She enfolded him in her arms and gave him a fierce squeeze. Mordred returned it with equal ferocity, and it was then that she felt the tears spring to her eyes.   
“I’m fine, I’m okay, it’s alright.”  
“By the Old Magic, I was so scared,” she cried, “When we heard that Agravaine had purged the guard last month, I feared that you had been killed. I would have never have forgiven myself if I had let that happen!”  
Mordred clutched Merlin to his chest.   
“It’s okay,” he murmured, “I’m okay. We will be fine. Agravaine doesn’t know where we are or that I even left, I’m sure. I promised Mother that I’d take care of you.”  
“And I promised her that I’d take care of you!” Merlin sobbed into his shoulder, “And as I said, you could have died.”  
She pulled away and looked him in the eyes.   
“You’re the only brother I have, Mordred, and I’ll be damned before I let anything happen to you.”  
Mordred swept a lock of hair behind Merlin's ear.  
"I promise I won't do anything as stupid as that again."  
The young man smiled, his face lighting up.   
"But I'm home now," he said, "And you know that Morgana will want to have a party. After all, she loves a good excuse for one."  
Merlin smiled, sniffing and wiping her tears away.  
"It's High Priestess now," she said, "Old Magvaris passed to the Realm of the Dead last season. Morgana was voted her most likely replacement."  
"You don't say? I always knew that she was bright enough and talented enough to make it into the office of High Priestess. Our cousin isn't a fool."  
Merlin threaded her arm through her brother's and tugged him along.   
"Come now," she said, smiling up at him, "We haven't got all day, and I'm sure that the High Priestess already knows you're here, what with Morgause being a high member of the court. She always was very good at scrying."  
With that, the pair of siblings turned and strode into the woods, leaving behind no trace that they had even been there. 

~~~

Arthur Pendragon, Prince of Camelot, was very lost. He was certain that he had seen the tree that he as currently leaning against at least four times today already. Heaving a sigh, he strode to where his best friend and protector, Gwaine, stood.  
"We're lost," he admitted, inwardly groaning as Gwaine's grin grew, "And if you say 'I told you so' my first order of business as king will be to have you beheaded."  
Both men knew that the threat had no heat to it. They were as close as brothers, and Arthur would give his life for Gwaine if it came to that.  
"Well, if Your Highness commands," Gwaine teased, grinning as he swept into an elaborate bow.  
"Shut up," Arthur grumbled good-naturedly as he pushed his shoulder into his best friends'.   
The young prince took that moment to breathe in the autumn air. Winter was coming fast, he mused, and it would become easier to hide from Agravaine's men, but it would leave food scarce, and if they didn't find help, they would starve.  
Arthur felt a pang run through him as he thought of all those he'd already lost. Lancelot had lost his life in a skirmish with Agravaine's men months ago, and Leon had grown ill and passed not long after. The young prince didn't know if he could bear losing anyone else.  
His father's voice came to him.   
"The hazard of rule is that we may lose those that we love. All we can do is carry on."  
With a sigh, he turned to his horse, Llamrei, and stroked her nose.   
"Let's go," he said, "I think that I saw a ring of stones up there."  
He pointed to an outcropping of rock near them. Such stone rings had been created by the Druids, Arthur knew. It was likely that the druids who had made the stones were long since dead.   
"What do you think happened to the druids?" Arthur asked offhandedly as he swung himself into the saddle. At his side, Gwaine did the same and shrugged.   
"There are too many rumors to be sure. Some say that some magical event wiped them off the face of the earth. Other's say that they went into hiding at the time of Agravaine's coup, waiting for the return of the Once and Future King."  
Gwaine paused and grinned over at Arthur.   
"That's you, by the way."  
Arthur flashed a grin back at him as one of the knights, Percival, approached.   
"Sire, the scouts spotted a girl up at the top of the ridge. Shall we go see who she is?"  
Arthur shook his head.   
"We're heading that way anyway. If she's still there when we get up past the rock face, I'll talk to her."  
With a nod, Percival spurred his horse back to the small group of knights clustered behind them. Llamrei picked her way up the rocks, Gwaine's gelding, Flynn, following behind. Sure enough, at the top of the rock face, a young woman was gathering something into a basket.  
"Hello?" Arthur asked, reining Llamrei in, "Might I ask what you're doing so far from a town?"  
The young woman jumped and whirled around, fear evident in her eyes.   
"Don't come any closer," she said, holding out a warding hand, "My brother is a member of the King's Guard!"  
Gwaine and Arthur exchanged glances.  
"She's seen us," Gwaine muttered, "As much as I hate to do this, we have to take her with us, or risk her telling her brother."  
The girl perked up.   
"You will not take me anywhere," she said, her voice steady. Any trace of fear was gone from her eyes, making Arthur believe that it had been an act.  
For a brief moment, the prince thought that he was imagining things as her eyes flashed gold, but he was proved right in vision when Gwaine was hurled backward through the air. The sleeve of her dress rode up, and Arthur caught a glimpse of swirling lines across her wrist. In the next moment, the girl turned to him, her eyes flashing gold once more, and this time, he was thrown back through the air. As he hit the ground, cries of "Sorceress!" and "Kill her!" sounded from his knights as he heard the sound of swords being drawn from their sheaths.  
"No!" he cried, at the same moment as an identical cry rang out from the opposite side of the clearing.   
A young man dressed in dark blue and black scrambled down an incline and grabbed the girl's wrist.   
"Merlin, stop!" he said, "Don't hurt him!"  
"They were going to kidnap me, Mordred!" The girl, who Arthur now assumed was named Merlin, cried, "Do you want me to not defend myself?"  
"It's not like that," the young man, Mordred, said, "That's not just any mercenary. In fact, he's not a mercenary at all. Morgana would be furious if you killed him, because that's Arthur Pendragon, the Once and Future King."


End file.
